THE EXPORT TRADE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1188, 7 December 1894, Page 4

THE EXPORT TRADE.

HOW PRODUCE SHOULD BE PACKED.

London, September 28.

There is no prospect at the present moment of an early disposal of the 1500 tons of colonial butter stored in London, and as new arrivals are expected very shortly, those who stored their butter in the hope of finding a ready sale in the autumn are becoming very anxious as to the likelihood of getting rid of it. The large quantity of autumn feed for, cattle is almost unrivalled, and our provincial towns are so well supplied from the pasture districts around them that they have no need to call upon London to fill any deficiency. When winter comes, and the home-manufactured article falls off in supply, then, indeed, the stored butter in London will be required ; but, by that time, it is by no means improbable that some 500 tons more of the new season’s butter may have to be added to the previous 1500. The situation is critical, and may become disastrous.

Along with frozen meat, by which we understand beef and mutton, comes various other small frozen articles, such as sheep’s tongues, ox tongues, sheep’s kidneys, and ox tails, and even ox hearts. It is not too much to say that every one of these articles is packed in a manner quite disgraceful to the colonists, and, as a consequence, they all realise less money than they would otherwise. The articles here referred to are not canned goods. Sheep’s tongues arrive in wooden boxes, each containing about nine dozen. If colonists were here to see how these tongues look when the boxes are opened they would recognise in a moment how unsuitably they are packed. It is the custom in Australia to put these nine dozen tongues into the box without any order or arrangement, and then freeze the mass into one solid lump. Instead of this the tongues should each be frozen separately, so that they keep their natural shape, then packed in rows in the box, six or 12 dozen being put in a box. This method of packing would much improve the appearance of the tongues, and consequently they would command a higher price. Besides, the frost would be able to thoroughly penetrate each tongue and thus keep it sound and sweet. The present method of freezing in a mass is too often inefficient, and the tongues in the centre turn out unsound, and. consequently there is great waste. Another fault to be found with the present method, which would be avoided by the separate freezing, is that in separating the tongues of the frozen mass many are torn in half or otherwise mutilated. It is the universal opinion of salesmen in Smithfield market that a far better salewould be found for these articles if they were packed in the method here recommended. Ox tongues ought to be packed in exactly the same manner as sheep’s, only, of course, not more than two or four dozen in a box. In the case of the ox[tongues it would be advisable to cut off the waste parts of the root as this ' trimming would add to their value. ■ The veins of the root of ox tongues should have salt water pumped through them to thoroughly cleanse them from blood. This forcing of salt water not only cleanses the veins, but it adds to their keeping properties. Sheep’s kidneys find a poor sale here because of the difficulty there is in freezing them sufficiently to keep them sweet. But the method of packing suggested by the salesmen in Smithfield would enhance their marketable appearance and also bring about a better demand for them. The principle that is proposed is to freeze each kidney separately—say, by laying them on wire trays—and then, when they are well frozen in the centre, pack them in rows in a box, like cherries, greengages, or apricots are sent to Coventgarden market. It is surpL'ising how their appearance and attractiveness are improved by being packed in row’s, and layer on layer. A bout thirty dozen are now packed without order in a box, and if the new method were adopted, little if any space would be lost. Some few of the retailers, who know’ the value of setting their goods out to the best advantage, always adopt the plan of packing their kidneys in rows when offering them for sale. Ox tails, too, would find a more ready market if they were each laid out straight and frozen separately ) then packed in boxes, the thin and thick ends reversed alternately in the same manner as champagne bottles. What has been said about the order of

tongues and kidneys applies equally to ox tails. Ox tails packed in the above manner are a very much more attractive article of food than when sent in bags as at present. The Americans go to the trouble with chilled ox tails of wrapping each in a sheet of white paper. They find it pays, and it might even be a profitable investment if Australians were to follow their example. Ox hearts are now packed in coarse woven hempen bags, and when they are opened on this side it is quite a common thing to find the fat covered with “ fluff” or “down ” from the bag, which quite spoils the appearance of the heart. If the veins of the heart were well pumped out with salt water, then the large valves removed, and each heart afterwards frozen separately, they could then be packed in boxes, thick ends and thin reversed. Each box should contain two or four dozen hearts. The details mentioned about tongues, kidneys, tails, and hearts may appear somewhat trivial; but if Australians knew how much they lost annually by want of properly placing their goods on the English market they would be astounded. The extra cost of labour required to do this is repaid tenfold in the resulting price of their goods. — London correspondent of the Australasian.